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How often did she used to dream of going home and finding Toby safe in his crib? Her friends all coming to her from inside her mirror, a party ensuing that same night and everyone was happy. But she wasn't really there, was she? No, there was only one word to describe where she was right now. Where she had been for god knows how long.

Hell.

She was in Hell, it was the only explanation.

There was very little light where was being held captive, the bars were strong and the floor was concrete and there weren't any windows except for a tiny slot close to the ceiling. Too small for her to squeeze through, even if she could get out. She had a burlap sack for a bed, she had a sharp piece of stone that she used to kill and skin rats for their fur to keep herself warm in the colder times. Sarah had lost her sanity years ago, she was certain of it. She ate only what she could catch, bugs, worms, mice or perhaps a bird if she was very lucky. The heat inside the dungeon got so bad, it partially cooked the flesh of anything she caught in the warmest times but it also just about baked her brain and left her badly sun burned. Her hair had grown long and was messy, she hadn't washed since she'd been tossed in here and she'd lost count of the months and years a long time ago. Her unknown captor had whisked her away, right as Jareth was sending her back home, this man was waiting there for her and grabbed her mid-transition back to her world. He flung her into the cage and for as long as she could remember, he had raped her each and every single night, sometimes twice or three times. She had stopped screaming after six months, quit struggling after eight months and didn't even bother begging him to stop anymore after the first year. He just didn't listen, or maybe he didn't understand her language, she couldn't really see what he looked like but she was pretty sure by his size and clawed hands that he was not at all human.

Was he an Orc? Was he a Troll? Maybe a Half sized Giant?

She just couldn't tell, her eyes had adjusted to the darkness but not enough to be able to discern any physical features, only that he was big and muscular and growled a lot. He was rough and used her like a piece of meat, fucking her pussy and her ass and her mouth whenever he felt the desire and never once did he ever use any words, just grunts and growls. Sarah had even stopped crying, she had stopped hoping and wishing and her gaze was a dead-eyed stare of emptiness that fixed itself on the wall and just waited for him to finish with her and then she'd just lay there in pain until the next time he returned. Looking over at the cell beside hers, Sarah gulped and felt a huge sob trying to erupt from her chest but she refused to let it.

She had given birth seven times now, each of the babies had survived for different lengths of time until they finally succumbed to starvation once her breasts had run dry of milk. She simply had nothing to give them except raw or partially cooked rodents and grubs but it wasn't enough for them both to survive on and she couldn't just starve herself. So she just placed her babies into the next cell and listened to them scream and cry, they would wriggle out of her reach and she could do nothing to help them and no matter how much she pleaded her captor for help, he refused to acknowledge the babies. Eventually the infants would just lay there, listless and breathing heavily until they shuddered and fell asleep for the last time, some with their eyes still half open to haunt her, though they were perfect bait for catching more rats and mice. These were her captor's children, weren't they?

Yet he cared nothing for them and just let them die and rot in the next cell over.

Ashamedly, Sarah had been so hungry at times that she was guilty of using a long stick to bring them closer and taking pieces of the tiny bodies and eating them, often with tears in her eyes but they never fell and she eventually stopped feeling anything for the babies at all. She looked down at her growing abdomen, baby number eight and she knew his or her fate at once. Sarah slowly stood up on her twig-thin legs and her knees collapsed under the weight of the 8-month fetus inside of her, if only she could pick herself up and fling herself against the wall repeatedly and as hard as she could, perhaps the baby would die and be spared of the inevitable suffering it was doomed to endure in just a few short weeks from now. But no, she was too weak and it just wasn't going to happen, she wanted to feel something or even cry for her child but she couldn't. She actually sort of just smiled, half crazed and looked down at her sharp rat-skinning stone and she picked it up, turning it over and over in her hand as she got the idea to just kill the baby with it the moment it was born, just a quick slit to the throat, it'd be over in seconds.

Just as she was contemplating this, the familiar sound of his heavy, thudding footsteps descended the stone stairs at the other end of the dungeon and Sarah hid her sharp stone under her rat fur blanket. She didn't have any clothes left to speak of, he'd seen to that with his rough ripping and tearing at her and she was often left bleeding and scratched and bitten once he was finished fucking and raping her, she never got to orgasm either, not that she wanted to but he was such a selfish bastard and never once asked her if she might be hungry or thirsty. Sarah had to rely on rain for a drink, it'd trickle down the wall and she could suck it up and also she could drink her own breast milk when it was available and it kept her alive and somewhat healthier than she would have been just living off rats and water. The cell door swung open and slammed against the bars, Sarah went limp and her captor dragged her from the corner and lay her down, fucking her hard and fast with animalistic grunts and growls of pleasure until he came inside of her, keeping her legs spread wide open and leering down at her breasts as they bounced with the force of his thrusts. She could feel her baby kicking and stretching inside of her, so Sarah waited until her captor was pulling out, then she got up and tried to run for the door but her knees collapsed again and he laughed, a deep, booming sound that vibrated through the ground itself. Then she felt a blinding pain as his huge fist landed squarely in the middle of her guts, it took her breath and she writhed in agony and as he walked away and locked her cell door, Sarah began to pass out and her last thought was a bittersweet one:

The baby had suddenly stopped moving.

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Sarah awoke some time later, she didn't know how long she had been out for but she soon wished she had stayed unconscious because the unbearable pain that surged through her body made her scream and cry out in terrible agony. She felt the strongest urge to push, breathing deeply to try and ease the pain and panting hard and fast to keep herself from pushing too early and she reached down to try to figure out how far she might be dilated. She figured maybe five centimeters, not wide enough for an almost full term baby, so she would have to wait a bit longer and just try to deal with the pain but something was wrong. She could hear loud, thunderous booms outside and people shouting, it sounded like a war zone out there complete with explosions and roars and clangs of swords against metal shields. How could there be a battle outside?

She lay there and writhed in pain, blood flowing from between her legs and loud screams surging from her parted lips but those were lost in the cacophonous sounds of a castle under attack from outside and so nobody even knew that a mother of seven dead children was about to give birth to her eighth little corpse and she realized that she was feeling suddenly very sorry for herself. She supposed the best case scenario would be that the castle was destroyed, she would be left alone forever and eventually die of age or something but at least there would be no more babies to birth and watch starve to death slowly and painfully. After what seemed like hours, Sarah heard the noises slowly fade away and she felt the stillness of the dungeon all around her, letting out an almighty howl as she could no longer stop herself from pushing, she rolled her eyes back into her head and blacked out.

Again Sarah slowly blinked awake and she was in semi darkness, but something had changed, her bed felt different. The room she was in looked much like a hospital and it was brighter than the dungeon had been but the doctors had clearly figured her sensitive eyes would not have been able to handle anything much brighter just yet. A woman was sitting next to her, watching her vitals on a monitor and didn't seem to notice that Sarah was awake just now.

"Ughn," Sarah grunted, "bahh, buhh." 

Her mouth wouldn't cooperate when she tried to ask about her baby, she hadn't spoken in so long. The woman glanced down at her, she had bright pink eyes and transparent wings folded neatly at her back and she wore a white, nurse's uniform.

"Just relax," she spoke in a soothing tone, which wasn't at all condescending, "you're safe now, you poor thing. You must have gone through pure Hell down there."

She turned and picked up a bundle of blankets, carefully handing them to Sarah once she'd sat herself up and Sarah gently accepted the bundle. She looked down into the blankets and pulled aside one corner, it was her baby and Sarah opened up the blankets to get a better look at the disfigured creature. The nurse shied away, but Sarah gazed lovingly down at her child, it was a girl and it looked like she was just sleeping but Sarah knew better by the faint bruising around her lips that suggested she wasn't breathing. It looked hideous to the nurse, who shuddered at the very sight of it but Sarah saw only beauty in her child, for how could she see anything else?

She wrapped the baby back up and the nurse took it away, leaving Sarah on her own while they did whatever was done to dead, disfigured hybrids that didn't survive long enough to take a breath of air and give out their very first cry to announce their arrival into the world. There was only silence for this one, she'd never got to utter a single sound and Sarah finally broke down for the first time in years, heaving huge sobs and just letting out all the anguish and hurt all at once. She was a complete mess, she had finally broken down and found that she just could not stop crying, no matter how hard she tried. If only the battle had begun a day sooner, she might have stood a chance at least but who had rescued her? Where even was she anymore? 

The nurse returned after a while and adjusted a few things, Sarah didn't feel at all hungry and she guessed that she was being fed through an I.V. tube because her body wouldn't be able to handle a full meal just yet. It was a strange feeling, not being hungry and she would have to get used to it all over again.

"Can I come in now?" Sarah heard a male voice talking firmly just outside the door, "I have to see her, get the fuck out of my way at once!"

Sarah cringed as the doctor outside the door explained that males were not allowed inside the room, that this poor woman had been raped and abused for years and that his presence would only cause her more distress and do more harm than good. There was silence for a short time and then Sarah heard angry footfalls leaving, she gave a sigh of relief and relaxed again, she certainly was not up for even looking at a man right now, let alone speak to one or even tolerate one in her presence.

This was going to take time and adjustment, but for as long as Sarah remained at the hospital in the months that followed, she never once went a day without hearing that demanding voice asking to see her.

Eventually, she began to grow curious and as her body filled out and repaired itself as if nothing had happened, Sarah one day pulled the nurse aside and asked that the visitor be allowed in.

"If that is what you want," the nurse replied, her name was Rosina, "then I'll go and fetch him for you."

"He's here?" Sarah wondered in disbelief, for she hadn't heard him today yet.

"He never leaves," Rosina said with a small smile, "I do believe you have an admirer Sarah, if you don't mind my saying so. He is paying for everything."  

Sarah wondered now, could it be? 

Rosina left and Sarah backed away towards the corner, keeping to the shadows but Rosina had brightened her room tiny bits at a time each week until Sarah's eyes stopped hurting and sometimes she could even look out the window if the sun wasn't too bright.

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The door opened slowly and Sarah's eyes grew wide at the sudden appearance of the Goblin King, large as life and just as she'd remembered him.

"Jareth," she whispered, tensing up stiffly.

"Sarah," his soft voice came to her like a song on the breeze, she relaxed somewhat.

"How many times I called for you," she spoke, her voice trembling and tears welling up in her eyes, "how many times I begged and pleaded for you to come and save me."

Jareth was silent, it was best not to interrupt right now and he knew this.

"For too long I actually believed you'd come," Sarah started to get angry, balling up her fists at her sides, "but you never did!"

Jareth turned his eyes away from hers, a good idea because Sarah felt wild and didn't want anyone looking at her right now.

"I never knew," Jareth replied quietly, "believe me when I tell you that if I had known, none of this would have happened to you at all."

Sarah slowly lifted her eyes as he turned back towards her, their gazes locked now in a silent moment of familiarity.

"Let me take you home to your family," Jareth offered, "you should be with people who care about you."

Sarah withdrew further into the corner, shaking her head.

"Have you looked at me, Jareth?" she asked him shakily, "they wouldn't even know me anymore! I'm surprised you do."

Jareth stepped closer towards her, rounding the end of her hospital bed.

"Of course I know who you are," he said to her firmly, "I have cut down many Kingdoms searching for you."

Sarah frowned, trying to register this new information.

"You knew I was missing?" she asked.

"Of course," Jareth sounded impatient with her doubtful tone, "but I did not know where to look. Nobody was talking, so I took the initiative and with a strong Allied force, I began to use the process of elimination until we located you at last."

Sarah was quiet for a long time, Jareth was almost right in front of her now.

"How did I get here?" she looked up at him with narrowed, fierce eyes, "how did you know where to find me down there?" 

Jareth stared right at her eyes, they hurt him with how angry and bitter she felt towards him but he did not let her know of his pain.

"I heard you scream," he said to her and his voice was so soft in that moment, that if they hadn't been in such a silent room, she would not have heard him.

"Never have I heard such a scream in my life," Jareth averted his eyes now, "and I have lived a long time, Sarah. The pain, the remorse and the anguish. I never want to hear such a sound ever again. I went into the dungeon myself and I have seen the horrors of which you might never speak. I gathered you up into my arms and I brought you here myself."

Sarah unclenched her fists and stopped narrowing her eyes at him.

"Rosina told me you never have left here since I arrived," Sarah said quietly.

Jareth had stopped now, mere inches from her and Sarah did not shy away from him.

"How could I leave?" he whispered.

Sarah felt her tears brimming now, threatening to fall and when she blinked, they came streaming down her cheeks and she gulped back a big sob as his arms finally came to embrace her. She trembled and slowly put her arms around his waist, keeping her eyes closed and holding him so tightly, it was as if she were trying to just meld with his body and cease to exist.

"I want to come home with you," Sarah cried out between huge, heaving sobs against his chest, "please Jareth! Please, keep me safe! Keep me safe!"

Jareth held her as tightly as he dared, promising her that he would never let any harm come to her ever again and that as soon as the doctors told him that she was fit to leave, he would most certainly take her home to his castle. Sarah nodded and they continued to embrace for more than an hour, she eventually fell asleep in his arms and Jareth lay her back down into the hospital bed.

"She's had such a big day," Rosina entered the room, "you'd best leave her be for now. She needs to rest and you'll only excite her if you stay." 

Jareth did not like to be told what to do, but for Sarah's sake, he would make the exception here and he silently left the room but sat right outside the door and refused to sleep until she was safely back in his castle where she would be protected by both himself and his Labyrinth.

When Sarah next woke up, she believed that Jareth had been but a dream and she slowly sat up to look around and she startled to see little Didymus seated by her bedside.

"Sir Didymus?" Sarah looked at him with a worried expression, for he was not in a good way with one ear missing, one arm completely gone and both legs were cut off at the thighs.

"My Lady," Didymus spoke quietly, "our efforts were not in vain, we have completed our mission to bring you back."

"Didymus, what happened to you?" Sarah reached down and carefully lifted the little terrier into her lap, stroking his matted fur. Rosina was standing nearby, but Sarah was accustomed to her being around all the time because she was in charge of Sarah's recovery personally.

"He's been in a critical condition for a long time," Rosina explained, "brave little Knight, he went into every battle at full charge with determination that you would be rescued."

"I don't believe this," Sarah frowned, hugging Didymus and realizing Jareth had not been a dream after all, "Jareth had not even a scratch on him, he sent you all in while he sat back like some lazy General behind a desk, didn't he?!" 

"Calm down, dear," Rosina hushed her, "don't get excited. Jareth heals much more quickly than most around here."

"Oh," Sarah blushed hotly, "you mean, he was injured?"

"Not frequently," Didymus replied tiredly, "but he did not once give pause even when he was hurt, such valiance, worthy of a Knighthood himself I daresay."

Sarah held his tiny, frail form close to her and Didymus relaxed, sighing with content and closing his eyes.

"You have some very dedicated friends," Rosina smiled at Sarah.

"I know," Sarah looked down at her mangled companion, "perhaps too dedicated, I never asked for them to risk injury, I didn't want this!"

"He would not have had it any other way," Jareth stood in the doorway now, looking at the crumpled form in Sarah's arms.

Sarah looked up, then she glanced back down at Didymus and realized at last that the little terrier had stopped breathing.

"Didymus? Didymus!! Rosina! Help him!" Sarah panicked, "please! He's not breathing!"

"I know," Rosina felt badly for the woman, "it was his final wish to be with you when he passed. I'm afraid we could do no more for him, his injuries were too extensive. I'm sorry, Sarah."

Sarah cuddled up with Didymus and her tears rolled down her cheeks and soaked into his fur, he had died for her and she would never forget that. She looked up at Jareth with big, round eyes that glistened with tears.

"Jareth, please!" her voice quivered, "help him, I know you could! He's my friend, I don't want him to die, Jareth. Please, please help him, don't let him die! Please!"

Jareth could perform quite amazing feats with his magic of course, but bringing back the dead just wasn't one of them.

"I've had the best Healers in the land tend to him, Sarah," Jareth told her quietly, "it's a miracle he even survived this long." 

Rosina had been against letting Didymus come to see Sarah for a long time, after she had lost her babies it seemed not a good idea to let her see him in his condition but Jareth had ordered that Didymus get his final wish, he was clearly dying and most likely would not see another sunrise. Sarah allowed Rosina to gather up Didymus from her arms and take him away, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"I thought I'd be desensitized to loss by now," she almost laughed in her grief. Jareth tilted his head, frowning slightly.

"Loss isn't something one should ever become accustomed to," Jareth told her, approaching the bedside now, "we fight for life because we need to hold onto the people we love and care for."

Sarah met his gaze, she was hurting only on the inside now and she felt that this pain would never be healed.

"When does it stop hurting, Jareth?" she whispered, more tears streaming down her face and she didn't care how she looked, she was hurting and she was sad, she was entitled to cry and look a mess.

Jareth sat on the edge of her hospital bed and put his arm around her, she was tense at first and shuddered at the sense of a man being this near to her.

"Losing someone you love will break your heart," Jareth replied carefully, "each time it happens, your heart will break a little more and like a vase it can be put back together, though it will never be completely without scars."

Sarah nodded lightly, she had once glued a vase back together and it kept getting smashed and glued back together again and while it still held the same basic shape, the cracks and chips were more and more obvious with each break. She relaxed and leaned into Jareth's arms, he was a stranger to her but he was the only one she felt completely safe with and she wasn't even sure why. Jareth had been through a lot in order to rescue Sarah, in his heart he knew that he would never allow anything terrible to happen to her again but then, he hadn't even been able to protect her the first time so what made him believe he could keep her safe this time? She found it sad that he seemed to speak of a broken heart from experience, finding that she felt ready to leave the hospital with him now and try to begin her journey of inner healing. She glanced up at Jareth and he brushed her hair away from her face, gazing into her eyes without a hint of withdrawing from her puffy, bloodshot eyes and wet, tear stained cheeks.

"Rosina," Sarah looked to the nurse, "I want to go with Jareth now."

Rosina nodded.

"I will miss you," Rosina said with a smile, "but I don't ever want to see you in this place again, do you hear?"

Sarah nodded back, swallowing a lump in her throat as Jareth stood and took her arm to link with his.

"Best go the long way around," Rosina warned him, "she might faint if you try that warping thing on her right now. She needs plenty of rest and make sure she eats, she hasn't had more than a nibble of this and that since she arrived."

Jareth nodded, taking her advice into consideration and he led Sarah out of the room and down along the hallway. Sarah looked around in awe at the hospital, it was massive and there were so many, many different species here that she had never seen before. From fit-in-your-palm sized people to tall-as-a-giraffe sized orcs and trolls and every size and creature in between. It left her mind reeling, they must be in neutral territory or something and so she did not question the nature of the hospital. Jareth led her outside and she shied away her face from the sunlight, burying herself into his body as best she could and pressing her forehead into his chest.

"It'll be sunset soon," Jareth reassured her, "there's a long way to go."

He encouraged her to come along with him and Sarah walked until they rounded the corner of the building, where she gasped and pulled back in fright. There was a dragon standing there, so enormous that it's smallest claw towered over them like a bridge.

"Don't worry," Jareth said firmly, "she belongs to a very good friend of mine, she's here to take us home."

Sarah stared up at the magnificent beast, it wasn't making a lunge at them and it wasn't breathing fire everywhere. She felt a little braver as she and Jareth stepped up to the dragon and it lowered itself down, but it would be quite a climb to it's back and Sarah wasn't feeling strong enough to even attempt such a feat.

"How do we get up there?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the setting sun as she squinted and craned her neck, trying to see the dragon's back.

"Elevator," Jareth smiled faintly. Sarah gave him an uncertain glance and sure enough, a rope was sending down a wooden crate as Jareth tugged on it. They got into it and Jareth began to pull the rope again, this time bringing them up, up, up towards the dragon's back.

"Does it have seat belts too?" Sarah asked, almost sarcastically but she genuinely wanted to know.

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Jareth helped Sarah up onto the dragon's back, ensuring that she was comfortable before shouting the command for flight and the dragon suddenly began to beat her wings and push up from the ground. Sarah appreciated that Jareth let her sit behind him, that way she could control how much or how little physical contact they would have and she held onto his midsection just to make sure she wouldn't slide off the dragon's scaly back. She bravely looked down and the beauty of the world below her just stole her breath away, her eyes growing wider as she took it all in and felt amazed at how much space there was outside. It made her feel a little overwhelmed and she clutched at Jareth tightly, unable to see him, she did not witness his wince as her arms wrapped around his aching ribs. He may have been a fast healer, but it wasn't instant and the weaker he was while the damage was being done, the longer it would take to heal properly.

They finally landed and Jareth sent the dragon back to her own Kingdom, then he led Sarah into his castle and showed her to a room that was suited for more a Queen than herself but Sarah did not question it or refuse to take it, she quietly thanked Jareth and he nodded to her without hesitation.

"If you need anything, just call," Jareth told her, "someone will hear you, I promise."

He went to close the door, but Sarah grabbed it and stopped him from doing so.

"Could I just have it left open?" she asked him nervously.

"Of course," Jareth said quietly, "this is your home now, Sarah. Do as you please."

He walked away down the hall and Sarah walked over to the window, it was evening by now and she opened the curtains to gaze out over the Labyrinth and she found herself feeling so safe and more at home than she'd ever felt in her life. But there was a sadness in her heart that continued to hurt, she tried to ignore it and push it aside, sometimes she even forgot it was there but always it returned and it wasn't about to go away anytime soon, either. Sarah took in a deep breath of air, it was sweet and fragrant, then she heard a gentle tap on her door and she turned around to see who it might have been. A small goblin was carrying a tray into her room, she looked down at him and noticed his legs were trembling under the weight of the food and drink that was packed onto his burden.

"Hello," Sarah greeted him.

"'E-'e-e'llo!" the goblin responded, struggling not to drop the tray.

"What's your name?" Sarah wondered, not moving to help him.

"Scats," replied the goblin, "wh-where d'ya want dis?" 

Sarah gestured to her bedside table.

"Put it over there and get out," she snapped harshly.

Scats frowned and slowly made his way towards the table, when Sarah suddenly stuck out her foot and tripped him over. The tray crashed to the floor and the food and drink went everywhere and Scats quickly got to his feet and cringed with his hands over his head.

"No hits!" he pleaded, "no! No hits!"

Sarah had picked up the tray and was approaching him with it, her eyes glazed over and she began to strike the little goblin with it repeatedly until his shrieks turned into sickening splatter sounds. Sarah dropped the tray and backed off, several other goblins scampered into the room to see what the noise was all about and they were quickly followed by Jareth himself. The goblins stared at Sarah accusingly, but she stared back at them with an icy gaze until she saw Jareth come in, then she sobbed and rushed into his embrace.

"They went crazy!" Sarah bawled, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Jareth shot a glance down at the goblins and they gulped, bunching together and then pointing at one another to try and deflect blame from themselves.

"Idiots!" Jareth roared, "get this mess cleaned up at once!"

He led Sarah out of the room, apologizing softly to her and trying to calm her down. Sarah let him soothe her once they had arrived in his bedroom, where he told her to stay put until her own room was taken care of. She could breathe in his scent everywhere in here and she found that she enjoyed it, so she stripped off naked and walked over to his large bed and curled up on it, rubbing her cheek into his pillows and rolling around to get as much of his scent onto her body as possible.

The goblins didn't go back to Sarah's bedroom after that, nor any other room she happened to be in and she was just fine with that because she wanted to be left alone anyway. Jareth only visited her every so often, but the time he spent with her increased with each day and one evening, Sarah was in the courtyard garden and she heard a twig snap nearby. She snapped up her head sharply, her eyes searching the flowers until she saw something move among them.

"Show yourself!" she demanded firmly.

She wore a beautiful gown and she didn't want it to get ruined, especially not by some creep hiding in the garden.

"It's only me," Hoggle's voice came to her as if out of a dream she'd  forgotten long ago and then he emerged from the flowers and looked at her sheepishly.

"Hoggle?" Sarah's tone softened considerably, "you're alright!"

"Yeah," Hoggle scuffed his shoe on the pavement.

"But how did you survive the battles?" Sarah wondered.

"I er," Hoggle rubbed the back of his neck, "I never went."

He had hidden inside his little hovel like a coward, he was ashamed of himself and couldn't look her in the eyes.

"I see," Sarah said stiffly, "like that is it?"

Hoggle looked down at his shoes, faded and near ruin as they were.

"I'm sorry," Hoggle apologized, "I wish I was braver, but I've got this limp yer see, I'd have held everyone up with it!"

Sarah shook her head slowly, feeling angry and hurt but it wasn't Hoggle's fault, she just didn't know how to direct this pent up fury and rage and it just seemed to have a mind of its own, unleashing on whoever was fool enough to be around at the time of eruption.

"Sir Didymus died because of cowards like you!" Sarah accused him, "you should have been there! You should have had his back! Maybe you would've been hurt yes but then maybe he would have survived, with just one less injury! It could have made all the difference!"

Hoggle felt worse now that she was screaming at him, he cringed and his knees shook at the ferocity with which she spat her venomous words. He wanted to apologize over and over, but he hadn't heard of his good friend's death and the grief was tearing at his heart just then but Sarah had started to pick up some rocks that were neatly placed around the base of each flower bed and she began to pelt them at Hoggle furiously! He held up his arms to deflect the blows, one hit his face and smashed his eye socket, blinding him in the right eye instantly before he quickly hobbled off to the safety of the Goblin City.

Sarah stared after him but she did not give chase, breathing heavily as the red haze that clouded her vision slowly began to subside, the feral drool dribbling down her chin went unnoticed until she had properly calmed down. Slowly, she turned back to the flowers and leaned in to smell them, smiling as she wiped her chin and sighed with the peaceful stillness of the lovely garden.

Hoggle did not stop in the city and kept running through the Labyrinth, using his knowledge of short cuts to get himself home, where he bathed his wound and tried to bandage it up with moist leaves and tree resin. His hands were trembling, he was panting heavily and his heart was pounding madly, what had happened to Sarah? Wasn't she his friend anymore? He had let her down, that's what and she hated him and no, he could not blame her for that. He was responsible for Sir Didymus dying, she had just about told him herself and Hoggle was easily led and so he believed it firmly with all of his heart that he was no good and deserved whatever she dished out onto him. He would try to talk to her again, but if she rejected him a second time then he vowed to just leave her be and let her live her life without him in it.

Sarah slowly walked back into the castle, she could smell something good and she felt hungry to try to stomach a little more tonight than what she had been over the last few days and Jareth always made her feel like everything was alright every single time she saw him. The chefs were still cooking, so Sarah went to try and find out where Jareth was lurking around but she couldn't see him anywhere and just when she was about to get worried and start to panic, she walked close to a door and heard what sounded like a shower running.

Was he in here?

She carefully pushed open the door, peering around slowly so as not to be discovered and hoping that she was not about to see some wrinkled up goblins fooling about in the bathroom. She looked towards the shower stall and crept in a little way, then she gulped and looked at Jareth in sadness and shock.

He stood first with his back to her, cuts and abrasions stung him as the water trickled down his back and then he turned to the side, where she could see large bruises covering his ribs and she put her hand over her mouth to stifle her gasp. Jareth was washing his hair, his eyes were closed so he did not see her and he hummed quietly to himself as he turned front on now, getting ready to rinse the shampoo from his hair and Sarah felt a lump form in her throat. He was hurt, bruises and gashes that looked utterly crippling covered his chest, stomach and legs. One knee was slightly bent, obviously in pain and unable to support him and yet she hadn't noticed him limping at all earlier, was he not letting her see his pain to spare her further trauma?

Sarah backed out of the bathroom and softly shut the door, walking away and heading back down to the dining room with a furrow to her brow and a thoughtful expression on her face, her eyes were distant and unfocused, just what the hell had he done to himself in order to ensure her rescue?

Chapter Text

Sarah seated herself at the dining table, it was already set up for them to begin helping themselves to the meal and she felt a strange pang of guilt as she realized that Jareth was late in coming downstairs to eat. She leaned back, catching sight of him out of the corner of her eye, as he hissed and limped down each one painfully. He paused at the bottom to clutch at his ribs, clearly not coping very well at all. He whispered something under his breath and then, just like that, a calm came over his pained features and he straightened himself up. Sarah was amazed as Jareth gracefully entered the room like nothing had been wrong just now, he stooped to lower his face close to hers and hovered there, letting her choose an interaction if she wished to do so. Sarah did, she kissed his cheek softly and placed her fingertips at the side of his face, he turned his head slightly and she kissed his lips.

They were soft and supple, much like her own and his skin was tender, hairless and smooth. Not like the coarse, itchy, hairy skin of the thing that had held her captive for so many years, its scaly lips often caused her to have sores all over her body where it kissed her, including her own mouth and its tongue felt like a slimy, slippery eel that made her gag whenever it managed to worm it's way past her clenched teeth. Jareth smiled at her, just a little, then he sat himself across from her so that he could keep her within his sights and ensure she was coping well enough for him to be able to relax his concerns over her mental health. Sarah breathed in his scent, it was familiar and yet so strange to her, she felt a frantic sense of wanting to push him away and draw him tightly to her breast all at once. She reached over and tore the leg from something, she wasn't sure what but she worried and tore into the cooked flesh like a starving badger.

Jareth calmly picked out things to put upon his plate, taking only mild interest in her feral table manners and while they sent feelings of wanting to scold and correct her through him like knives lacerating his brain, Jareth simply ground his teeth and permitted her this one time to simply stuff her face as she pleased, thanking his lucky stars that they did not have important company over for dinner.

"I missed you at lunch," Jareth spoke at last, breaking the silence.

Sarah's cheeks were bulging as she chewed noisily, her mouth open as she looked up from the now bare bone clutched tightly in both of her hands. Jareth picked up a fork and looked at her pointedly as he used it with his knife, but Sarah's gaze only picked up on the sharp object and it sent an involuntary shudder down her spine. Her captor had often used such things on her body, cutting her deeply until she bled and laughing quietly at her distressed yowls. She swallowed her food, gulping loudly as it stuck in her neck but she managed to get it down without choking herself.

"I was in the garden," she said lightly, "talking with.. Admiring the flowers."

Jareth picked up on her little correction, but made no mention of it and she relaxed, thinking he hadn't noticed.

"They are quite nice this time of the year," Jareth nodded his approval, "but you do need to keep your strength up, Sarah. I expect you to be present at every meal from now on."

"Or what?" Sarah questioned him, her dark eyes locked with his intense gaze.

It was a simple, almost innocent question and yet it challenged his very authority and Jareth felt anger and impatience bubbling up within him. He had to remind himself of where she had been for the last several years, she was going to exert her freedom, push her boundaries and test her limits, it was only to be expected of course. She noted his tension and finally lowered her gaze, though she appreciated his lack of verbal abuse or any attempt at threatening her.

"I'm sorry," Sarah said quietly.

"You are quite forgiven, Sarah," Jareth excused her, "but please do try to think before you speak."

Sarah nodded, it was a reasonable enough request after all and she felt better for having been excused of her abrupt manner just now. She began to lick her fingers clean and paused when Jareth pushed a small bowl of water towards her, she struggled to comprehend why he'd do such a thing. She looked at her fingers, then back at the bowl and somehow made the connection and she sheepishly cleaned her fingers in the water, then she picked up a napkin and dried her hands before picking up her fork at last. Her hands trembled when she gingerly picked up the knife, using the utensils the way Jareth was doing and filling up her plate.

Sarah only managed to eat about half of it when her stomach felt like it might ache soon, so she set down her knife and fork and sat back to let her guts settle. She looked at Jareth with appreciative eyes, taking him in, his beautiful features and his clean scent and she possessed him fiercely so that if anyone even looked at him for longer than three seconds straight, she'd feel a savage jealousy strike inside of her, filling her chest with a gurgling rage that could not be quelled in her current state of mind.

"How are you coping?" Jareth wondered aloud, "are you sleeping well enough?"

"I'm sleeping just fine," Sarah responded quietly, "thank you."

She added this last part as an afterthought, trying to remember her manners after so long not needing to even speak to anyone except herself and the rats that chewed upon the bones and flesh of her helpless, dying, screaming babies, who jerked at every bite and bawled louder in vain attempts at getting their mother's attention.

"Sarah?" Jareth snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" she asked, lifting her brows curiously.

Jareth looked concerned, she was looking at him as if nothing was wrong and yet just now she had looked so distant and tears trickled down both sides of her face. Jareth reached over to brush away her tears and Sarah shied away, preventing him from being able to do so.

"Those tears are for my children," she said softly, "you will not disrespect their memory."

She pushed away from the table and quietly excused herself, Jareth stood up and watched her as she quickly left the dining room and then he sighed heavily. He could give her something to make the memories go away, but if she ever found out, she would hate him for taking them from her. They may not have been ideal children, but they were hers and they had grown inside of her, each and every night she had felt them moving and she had loved them despite everything. It was not their fault, nothing was ever the fault of the child, whether they were born yet or not, she loved them and she would grieve for them as any decent and loving mother would. Sarah went to her room and sat on her bed, she was looking and feeling so much better after her stay in the hospital, they had some very good elixirs and potions that had pretty much fixed her right up good as new but they couldn't take away the pain in her heart. The heavy burden of aching in her chest, it weighed down upon her so badly that she felt tired almost all of the time, it was a struggle to get out of bed let alone try to function as a normal person.

She looked up slowly as Jareth stood in her doorway but she did not become tense, nobody was allowed to cross the threshold without her verbal consent and while Jareth could choose to ignore this rule, he allowed her to have it and hold onto it for as long as she felt she needed it.

"Come for a walk with me, Sarah," he told her gently, "it's a lovely, cool evening out and there's a warm breeze keeping the chill away."

Sarah curled up on her bed and hugged her pillows, turning her face away from him. Jareth waited for a few minutes, then he bid her a soft goodnight and left her alone. He didn't think it was wise to leave her all alone just like that, so he did intend to come back and check in on her from time to time so that if she changed her mind and would like to be in his company, he could be there and make himself more visibly available to her.

Sarah sat up when she was certain that Jareth had gone far enough away from her room not to notice her leaving it, then she slipped out of her room and left the castle. She wandered out past the courtyard and into the Goblin City, there was a festival going on and there were little fireworks popping everywhere to light up the sky and the music was cheerful enough to make anyone who heard it want to start dancing. She smiled faintly as one of the Goblins that were sitting on a high wall dropped a string of flowers and shiny pebbles around her neck, she fingered the soft petals and flashed the small Goblin a toothy grin in response to his shrill, little giggles of delight. There were glowing things that flitted about the whole city like tiny lights with minds of their own, it was a simple little festival without a lot to do except dance and chatter among themselves, but it was lighthearted and friendly and Sarah sat by the fire to listen to the amusing banter between some of the less sober Goblins. It made her laugh and really enjoy herself, she even joined in some of their games and they were like the carnival games back home where if she hit a target, a Goblin would be dunked into water.

It felt good to forget her troubles just for a while, Jareth stood up in the castle window and watched the festivities but he did not notice her because he was so high up and couldn't see that far down very clearly, plus they were just Goblins and he really didn't want to waste the energy to summon a crystal and watch them close up because he had better things to do and too much on his mind to bother with them. Let them have their fun, they had done their duty for him in rescuing Sarah along with their Allied friends, Jareth wasn't going to begrudge them a simple party in celebration of whatever had excited them this evening.

"It's happened!" a stout Goblin suddenly shrieked, "it's happened!"

Everyone fell silent and Jareth turned away from the window to go and get ready for bed, he was tired and keen to get some sleep. Sarah stood up and looked around, her heart thumping madly at the sound of tiny mewls coming from a house nearby. A Goblin soon emerged, holding an ugly little Goblin baby, it was crying and making fists, rubbing them hungrily at its mouth and trying to suck them. Sarah knelt down and smiled at the baby, her eyes brimmed with tears and she kissed its little cheek and then tickled its wrinkly chin.

"Absolutely beautiful," Sarah cooed happily, "what a perfect baby, congrats!"

"Thankyer," the Goblin beamed proudly, for nobody but themselves had ever referred to a Goblin baby as anything other than having a face that not even a mother could love.

Sarah eventually wandered away from the noise and excitement, she was feeling suddenly jealous of the mother Goblin and she knew she should get away from her but as bad luck would have it, Hoggle was just coming to see the tot and he paused as they stopped short right in front of each other.

"Not you again," Sarah frowned, "why don't you just go away? Do us all a favor and never show your face around here anymore! I can't stand to look upon the face of such cowardice!"

Hoggle didn't even get a word in during her rant, but he tried now that she seemed to be finished.

"Sarah, what they planned to do was crazy!" Hoggle wanted to explain.

"Yes, well," Sarah put her hands upon her hips, "bravery can seem foolish to a coward."

"That's not fair and you know it!" Hoggle spoke angrily, his heart in pain and the ache of his smashed eye as he tried not to let his tears flow was almost unbearable, "the things they were up against in the final battle, they were huge! We would have looked like ants coming to attack them!"

Sarah couldn't believe his lies, the thing that had held her captive in the dungeon was big but it wasn't that big.

"Go and tell someone who wasn't there," Sarah spat at him venomously, "I was counting on you Hoggle, people needed you and you just weren't there. Didymus needed you. I needed you! I had dreams that you told me to call you if I should ever need you for any reason and I did, Hoggle. I did call and you know what? You never came, nobody ever came! Except Jareth, he's the only one who cares! The only one!!"

She was screaming now and Hoggle backed away, limping off into the shadows in fear of another rock to the face. Sarah watched him slink away, seething her hatred at his retreating form and feeling choked up at realizing that she had nobody left who loved her, nobody - except Jareth. She clung to herself, smelling his scent all over her clothing and she knew it would keep her safe, even the creatures of the Labyrinth avoided her direct path when they caught Jareth's scent approaching wherever she went. Sarah turned and strode purposefully back to the castle now, not at all concerned about the effect her constant rejection would have upon Hoggle and he was indeed very depressed right then, hobbling off towards the swampier area that was home to the Bog of Eternal Stench to pay his respects to the home that once belonged to his dear friend Sir Didymus.

"I wanted to go," Hoggle grumbled to himself, "why didn't I go?"

Because you're a coward, he thought to himself, and you'll never have another friend as long as you live because you don't deserve to even exist..

Chapter Text

The night was still and quiet in Jareth's bedroom, he had chosen this particular room for himself because it was furthest away from all sources of noise, he did enjoy getting a good night's sleep and sometimes the Goblin City could get rather rowdy, especially after a long, hot day when they wanted to wind down and have some fun. He was just rolling his eyes, drifting into unconsciousness when he startled and noticed that his door was slowly opening, but he just sighed and closed his eyes again, exhausted and trying desperately to find sleep before his painkiller spell wore off.

Sarah padded across the room, barefoot and in her night-slip. She carefully crept into Jareth's bed, snuggling down under the covers and reaching for his warm body, giving pause when she touched soft flesh and then lightly feathering her fingertips over his naked body in curiosity. Jareth was asleep, so Sarah just lay silently beside him and soon closed her eyes as well, allowing sleep to finally claim her and she slept deeply. Jareth woke first the next morning, nighttime was short here but very restful and he was ready to begin the day anew, but he wasn't expecting to fling back the covers and find Sarah curled up next to him, sleeping in his bed!

"Ah!" Jareth startled, quickly pulling the covers back over his lap.

Sarah also startled, waking and sitting up hurriedly, her eyes wide and uncertain.

"What?" she wondered, "what is it?"

"You're in my bed!" Jareth scolded her.

"I know," Sarah looked at him meekly, "I got scared last night."

"Oh," Jareth looked at her now with less ferocity, "what frightened you?"

"Being alone I guess," Sarah shrugged idly, "Jareth, will you always be there for me?"

"Of course," Jareth furrowed his brow, "why wouldn't I?"

Sarah looked at him but she could not see the bruises or any other marks that she had witnessed last night.

"What happened during the final battle, Jareth?" Sarah asked him.

"That's not a good idea," Jareth refused to answer her question, "you're not going to get better if you dwell upon this subject. It's time to move on, Sarah, forget about the past and look forward to a better future."

"I can't forget," Sarah replied softly, "but I'll try to leave it behind me, where it belongs."

"Good," Jareth offered her a relieved smile, "it will be time for breakfast shortly, shall we go down together?"

Sarah nodded slowly, but she waited for him to say something more. Jareth was doing his best to keep his wounds invisible to her eyes, holding in his grunts and groans of pain for her benefit. Sarah looked into his eyes and she saw his pain, for that was the one place where nothing could be hidden from view and she saw the same look in her own reflection each and every morning since her rescue, the pain and the trauma hidden in plain sight if only one knew where to look.

"I'll leave you to get dressed," she said softly, touching his cheek and furrowing her brow lightly when she saw a brief glimpse of black and purple cover one whole side of his face, but had she imagined it?

Jareth bit his tongue, trying not to yelp when she touched his very bruised and once smashed jawline, waiting until she was out of the room and had closed the door before he put his fist up to his mouth and bit it with a groan of agony as his wounds and bruises revealed themselves. Jareth slowly got out of bed and limped over to the closet, his left eye was milky white and blinded and his body was aching terribly but he refused a lot of the treatments that had been offered to him, too concerned about Sarah's recovery to be bothered with being fussed over and ordered around by a bunch of doctors. He could heal himself, given time, but he was so brutally injured, it was going to take a lot longer than usual.

Sarah stood by the door and suddenly pushed it open, barging in and Jareth looked around at her in surprise, he had thought she was downstairs waiting for him like she normally would be and Sarah slowly fell to her knees, tears welling up into her eyes as she sadly took in the full extent of his horrific injuries.

"Sarah, you shouldn't be in here!" Jareth got angry with her and with himself for not realizing she hadn't left completely.

"Why would you hide this from me?" she demanded, tears now streaming down both of her cheeks as she looked at his battered body with despair.

"You have been through enough," Jareth stated firmly, "you don't need to see me this way, avert your gaze this instant!"

"Why?" Sarah asked him gently, "what will it change?" 

Jareth was silent for a time and he whispered something, Sarah tried to protest but it was too late and Jareth straightened up, looking as fine as ever and very well dressed too.

"Have it your own way then," Sarah said to him quietly, wiping her eyes dry, "but I have seen the truth and I cannot ignore that." 

She got to her feet and left him alone in his room, the door closing shut behind her as she went downstairs to breakfast.

Jareth sighed heavily, he had not meant for her to ever know he was injured but it did feel a little bit more relieving that she knew now, he wouldn't need to hide it quite so fiercely anymore.

Later that day, just after lunch and well before dinner was even thought about, Sarah was looking for someone to talk to but all she could find were empty hallways and the occasional scurrying goblin here and there, but one of them actually stopped and tried to catch his breath and Sarah noticed he was hurt. "What happened to you?" she wondered.

"Monster in the dungeon!" it shrieked, "monster in the dungeon!"

"What?" Sarah looked worried, "what kind of monster?"

The little creature hurried off again, looking fearful and shaking terribly. Sarah walked along back the way he'd just come from, finding a spiral stone staircase that led down into pitch darkness. With her jaw set, Sarah slowly descended the staircase and soon found herself in a blackened dungeon.

There was very little to no light down here, but her eyes adjusted quickly and she reached for the torch upon the wall and it burst into flame when it sensed her hand, lighting up some of the dungeon so that she could look around. It was indeed a dungeon, but there were terrible instruments of torture down here that Sarah would never have ever dreamed of finding inside Jareth's castle and as if they weren't disturbing enough just by being there but they had fresh, oozing blood still dripping from them, indicating that they had been recently used. Her attention was caught by the sound of wheezing, as if someone was struggling to breathe and just about failing with each labored attempt.

Sarah slowly crept in for a closer look and her skin crawled when she saw it and it looked back at her with recognition in its red, half closed eyes but it was too weak to do much more than stare back at her and Sarah looked up because it was hanging upside down and she winced when she realized the creature was actually being strung up by its scrotum. It looked painful, because the creature was very large and heavy, thus stretching the soft sac and causing what she could only imagine was immeasurable pain and agony. The thing had its wrists bound behind its back, preventing it from pushing up from the floor and relieving the strain upon its tender area, she almost felt sorry for it and she would have done, if she hadn't recognized this creature as her captor. She hadn't been previously aware of how he looked exactly, but somehow she just knew this was him and he definitely knew her in return, though there was very little he could about it now.

"You will answer my questions," Sarah's voice shook a little but she stood firm.

The creature merely dangled, perhaps silently praying for death, for what else was there for it to look forward to? Sarah looked around and located what looked like a spear, probably dropped by the little goblin she'd spoken to just before, she knelt down and picked it up, thrusting it inside the bars towards the creature.

"You will answer my questions," she said to him again, "or I'll make you suffer so much more!"

The creature seriously doubted that she could do any worse than than what Jareth had done to him night after night, the unspeakable horrors that the Goblin King had inflicted upon him made him wish for death to come swiftly but somehow, it just wasn't happening.

"What would you ask of a mangled creature such as I?" he asked, the voice no longer confident and cocky but weak and frail, Sarah found that she just wasn't afraid of him anymore and it made her feel bolder as she got closer to the bars.

"Why did you abduct me and hold me captive in your castle?" Sarah asked him, anger burning in her eyes now.

"I am but a humble servant," the creature replied, "doing my best to please my Masters, they gave you to me as a gift for my services, the castle does not belong to one as puny as myself, my Masters are giants in comparison, they could crush me with their pinkie toes, they could." 

Sarah looked at him in disbelief, this thing was easily seven to eight feet tall and well built with muscles that would put a professional wrestler to shame. She gulped as she realized that Hoggle had been telling her the truth the whole time, it made her shudder to ask the next question, but she felt that she needed to know.

"What happened to Jareth the day I was rescued?" she demanded, falling silent to await his response, but could she honestly handle what he was about to tell her?

Chapter Text

The creature looked as though he were thinking, then he whined pitifully and yowled at the top of his lungs, there was a great deal of pain and agony coursing through this monster and every so often he needed to just let out a horrible wail of torture. He panted and breathed heavily, but Sarah simply stood there and waited, she felt nothing towards this creature but contempt and hate.

"The war King," the creature finally responded, "he brings death upon all our heads, no matter how many times he is knocked down, he always gets back up. Nothing could stop him, he cut down all those who tried to prevent him from getting to the dungeons. His armies were too much, even for my Masters and we had to flee. I.. Stupidly went back for you and he was down there. He had someone bring me along, locked me away down here and I suffer tremendously each and every single time he visits me." 

Sarah listened intently to his vague description of the battle, it made her feel so thrilled that Jareth had not stopped until he'd found her but something else caught her attention.

"Why do you call him the war King?" she wondered.

The creature laughed quietly, though tears of pain sparkled in his red eyes.

"You'll find out sooner or later," he growled, erupting into another painful yowl that shook the very walls of the dungeon itself. 

"Please," the creature spoke softly now, "have mercy, finish me off before he returns?" 

Sarah's eyes hardened, she wanted nothing more than to kill this bastard but she forced herself to back away, he could suffer for a few more years and see what it was like.

"Don't leave me here like this!" the creature pleaded with her.

"Karma's a bitch, huh?" Sarah narrowed her eyes at him and turned away, leaving him to hang there in the darkness as she turned out the lights and closed the door.

She hurried back up the stairs and wiped the tears from her eyes, seeing her captor strung up by his balls was both frightening and amusing but she felt that she now had closure and tried not to give it another thought. She shuddered at the thought of what Jareth had been up to while she explored or slept, she knew he was busy doing things to run the Kingdom but part of his absence was due to seeing to the torture of her abuser personally. Was this partly why he was taking so long to heal? Because moving that beast would mean constant opportunities for it to lash out and hurt him all over again, she wanted to have a word with him about that but then, she didn't really want the creature to get a break, either. Sarah swallowed her pride and decided to go and see Hoggle, she wanted to clear the air with him before she spoke to Jareth about something so heavy and heart wrenching.

Slipping on her shoes, she exited the castle and went looking for him, asking here and there if anyone had seen him, but either nobody had or they pointed her further and further away from the city itself. Eventually, Sarah came to the place where she had first met Didymus and she covered her nose as she sat down by the rocks and placed her hand upon one of them. He'd stood right there, on this very boulder once upon a time, barking at her and boasting happily. It made her smile and laugh softly, tears streaking down her face as she enjoyed the brighter and happier memories that she'd long forgotten about when she'd been down in that dungeon.

She gazed out over the bog and frowned when she noticed a lumpy shape right out there in the middle of it, she squinted and walked closer to the edge and then she gasped and stumbled backwards. Sarah shook her head, but she recognized the little bag on the belt of the corpse, it was Hoggle and he was face down in the Bog.

"This is my fault," she said shakily, "I made you do this."

She got to her feet, her knees felt wobbly and her legs felt heavy as she turned and made her way slowly back to the castle, her eyes distant and her mind blank as she just navigated her way on auto-pilot. Sarah flung herself down onto her bed and cried so hard that after a while, she felt empty, as though there were no more tears left to cry and no more fucks left to give. She'd been through so much, it was almost comical to her now and she actually started to laugh just very quietly to herself, on the very edge of madness itself without even realizing it.

She slowly got up from the bed and left her room, she never really actively sought Jareth, he just sort of seemed to know when she needed him and showed up without warning, which is what he did right then.

"Jareth," Sarah spoke his name, as he was just passing by an open archway in front of her.

He paused and turned towards her, diverting his intended route to accommodate her.

"You've been crying," he said softly, cupping her face with a gloved hand.

Sarah stepped closer to him and let him embrace her, she buried her face into his chest and just sighed, a huge wave of relief just washed over her every single time he held her in his loving arms and it made everything seem so much brighter and happier to her.

"I'm fine," she said quietly, "it's just the memories flooding back every so often. I'll be okay in a minute."

Jareth stroked her long, silky, black hair and kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"You would tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn't you?" Jareth wondered.

"Of course," Sarah lied, smiling up at his concerned expression, "I told you though, I'm fine."

But she wasn't. 

*

As the weeks went on, Sarah did start to feel better and Jareth began to behave like he was trying to impress her. When boasting about his battles didn't work, he resorted to giving her flowers and setting up evenings together but he never touched her without making his intentions known to her beforehand and Sarah appreciated this very much. She started getting very comfortable with his touch and even anticipated and wanted it after a while, he made her laugh sometimes too because he was not a natural romantic and often did things the wrong way or got something a little backwards. He pouted whenever she laughed at him, but eventually the sound of her laughter brought him back out of his grump and he'd either laugh with her or try again.

Then, one evening, Sarah was resting comfortably on a soft blanket that was spread out upon the grass and she and Jareth were watching the stars twinkling high up in the sky. They were reclined against a soft tree trunk, she was between his legs and just leaning back against his chest, his arms were wrapped around her midsection and they were holding hands.

"Sarah," Jareth spoke gently into her ear as she caught sight of a beautiful Pegasus flying towards the valley.

"Hmm?" Sarah wondered back at him, not taking her eyes off the majestic creature, as big as a Clydesdale and now walking directly over to them.

The Pegasus lowered its mighty head and gave its mane a hefty shake, something fell out of the lovely strands of hair and Sarah caught it in her hands and gasped as she stared in amazement down at her palms.

"Would you marry me, Sarah?" Jareth asked her quietly, as the ring sparkled and glowed with an almost magical ambiance.

"Jareth," Sarah's voice trembled as she turned and he took the ring from her, holding her hand to place it onto her finger, "yes.. yes!!"

She hugged him around his neck, feeling excited for the first time in such a long, long time. Jareth held her tightly, his eyes closing as he let out a long breath of air, just relieved that she hadn't screamed at him or said no. He felt elated that she had reacted so well, he hadn't been expecting it, to be quite honest, perhaps she was truly healing by now and while he thought it was not nearly long enough for her to have gotten over it completely, he figured she was well on her way to leaving the past behind her and finally moving forwards with her life.

Chapter Text

Sarah got caught up in the days leading up to the wedding, she chose dresses and shoes, she got her hair done and her make up put on. There were people from several Allied Kingdoms there to help her get ready, all of them were female and Sarah wouldn't have it any other way, she knew Jareth had sent for them because Goblins simply could not be trusted to do anything right and she wouldn't have felt comfortable with them in her room anyway. Oh, but she could not have ever dreamed of a more grandeur wedding and Jareth looked every bit the bride and groom all by himself, handsome and beautiful, he was stunning and she could hardly believe such an ethereal creature would ever be interested in her.

The wedding was not something Sarah was overly familiar with, it seemed that there were quite different traditions here but she accepted it just the same and went along with everything as best she could. The first kiss they shared as husband and wife was celebrated with wild cheers and tiny explosions of confetti, Jareth wasn't keen on having it in his hair but Sarah just laughed and coaxed him out onto the floor to share in the first dance of the evening. No words could describe the uplifting experience had by everyone, but it was the night of their honeymoon when the cracks began to show through their seemingly perfect and immaculate relationship. Jareth had been patient with Sarah, also too sore to even think of making love with her but now he was better and she felt ready, so they were in his bedroom making out and groping each other heatedly.

Sarah suddenly backed away and dropped her dress to the floor, Jareth's cock throbbed in anticipation as he raked her naked flesh with hungry eyes and Sarah gave him a teasing smile, wriggling her body over to the bed.

"Come and get it, baby," she cooed softly, parting her thighs to stroke her slit with her fingers.

Jareth came a little closer and he frowned, because the sight of her made him think about that disgusting brute raping her repeatedly.

"Jareth?" Sarah sat up, "what's wrong?"

Her face was flushed, she needed him to touch her, it'd been so long and she was so ready!

"I can't stop thinking about what happened to you," Jareth admitted, "it's driving me insane!"

He turned away from her, ground his teeth and sighed heavily. Sarah stood up and walked over to him, she massaged his shoulders and neck, trying to get him back in the mood.

"Don't think about that," she said softly, "just think about me, come and enjoy my body, Jareth, please?"

He turned back to her and leaned down to kiss her neck, she moaned and grasped a fistful of his hair, bringing her lips to his ear.

"I want you so bad," she whispered hotly, fondling his crotch, "baby, you're so fucking hard!"

Jareth groaned and sought her lips, they kissed passionately and he squeezed her breast tenderly, Sarah moaned and arched into his gentle touch, she craved more and she kept taking little backwards steps towards the bed, luring him along with her. They lay together then, making out and Sarah wrapped her legs around his waist, but as Jareth pulled back to gaze down at her silken body, his troubled expression soon returned and he sat back away from her.

"Jareth," Sarah whined pitifully.

"I can't," Jareth stood up and walked away from her, "I just need a minute, Sarah. I have to clear my head."

"Don't you want me?" Sarah asked him, her eyes big and pleading and her bottom lip trembling, "don't you love me anymore?" 

"Of course I love you," Jareth looked back at her, "I want you Sarah, oh how I want you but I can't do this right now. Give me time, will you wait for a while?" 

Sarah nodded slowly and Jareth left the bedroom, she sank back down onto the bed but she couldn't wait for him, she was fired up and desperate, she needed to fuck and right now! She grabbed up her dress and flung it back on just loosely, then she crept out of the room and scoured the castle for any guests that might have stayed on after the wedding, her search led her down into the dungeon where she stood staring at her past abuser. He hung where she'd left him months ago, looking much worse than he had back then but he was still breathing, that was good enough. She grabbed the key down from the wall and unlocked the door to his cell, she pulled at the knot on the wall and he came crashing down onto his back. Sarah whisked off her dress and straddled him, coaxing his cock into hardening by rubbing her slick folds along his length.

The creature groaned and his cock grew erect, Sarah impaled herself upon it and rocked against him until she climaxed, fingering herself and slicking her sensitive nub into orgasm, then she panted and hummed, clamping and clenching around his engorged member but she slid off him before he could cum himself.

"Well," the creature wheezed, too weak to move anymore on his own, "that was unexpected. Couldn't resist?"

Sarah kicked him in his scrotum so hard that he howled, she quickly put her dress back on and hurried out of there, locking the door and hanging the key back onto it's iron ring upon the wall before she fled.

Jareth was upstairs, pacing by a window when he heard the bellowing creature's howl, he stopped and turned towards the sound, then he growled and headed downstairs to the dungeon, just as Sarah was slipping into the nearest bathroom for a quick shower. Jareth got down into the dungeon, took the keys from the wall and approached the creature's cell, but as he unlocked it and stepped inside, he paused and looked down with a furrowed brow. It was panting, clearly in unimaginable pain but how had he managed to get himself down from being strung up by his scrotum? 

"I don't know how you did that," Jareth said angrily, "but you had better not try it again."

The creature just managed to smile at Jareth, a smug and knowing smile that made Jareth furious.

"I didn't get myself down," the creature panted between words, still in agony, "my pretty, little pet helped me down and you know what else? She just fucked my sticky, green cock like a whore!"

He was asking for it, he was begging for it and Jareth had so far managed to keep himself held back but hearing this made something bubble up inside of his chest that he was finding impossible to ignore.

"You shut your filthy mouth!" Jareth snarled savagely at him.

"Ohh it felt so good!" the creature goaded him further, "she screamed like a fucking banshee, she enjoyed it more than I ever have!" 

There was a sickening sound of cracking bones and spurting organs as Jareth's boot came down onto the creature's head, applying more and more pressure until the thick skull finally gave way, made frail by the lack of nutrients and sunlight. He stood there for a long time, looking around at the floor and then he saw it, a small piece of Sarah's dress that had caught and torn when she pulled it out from under the creature's legs. Jareth slowly turned and left the still breathing creature down there to rot and die, the creature's head was so smashed in that each breath sounded much like someone was sucking through a straw and trying to slurp up the last bit of milkshake at the bottom of their cup.

Jareth felt rage and fury and betrayal swirling around inside of him, the hurt and the pain of what she had done to him, despite all he had done for her, it made him feel nauseated and dizzy with indescribable wrath! 

"Sarah!!" Jareth shouted her name and she heard it even over the rush of water around her ears in the shower.

She shuddered, feeling the rage behind the shout and she spun around as the bathroom door burst open and Jareth entered without hesitation, pulling her out of the shower and flinging her into the wall, holding her there as she shivered with the sudden coldness of the room, her naked body trembling and her teeth chattering with both cold and fear.

"What have you done?!" Jareth spoke to her angrily, his jaws clenched so tightly!

Sarah stared back at him with big, sad eyes and she knew he had somehow found out, so she could hardly deny it to his face.

"I'm sorry!" was all she could say, terror gripping at her heart and Jareth's tight fingers gripping at her arm, making her wince in pain.

Jareth was blinded by betrayal and rage, it wasn't going to save her.

"Filthy, lying whore!" he spat, hauling her away from the wall and thrusting her over to the shower.

She whimpered as he scrubbed her down, he didn't even seem to care that his clothes were getting wet, then he pushed her up against the wall and spread her legs open.

"So you like it this way then?" he asked roughly into her ear.

"No, Jareth, please no!" Sarah cried out and Jareth set free his cock, pushing it into her despite her protests.

When he was done, she crumpled the floor and he left her there to cry, filled inside with his semen and an ache in her heart that just unraveled her all over again and she began to give great, heaving and uncontrollable sobs.

Chapter Text

How could she do this to him? After all that he had done to rescue her, to save her and help her, she goes crawling back to that repulsive thing in the dungeon!! Jareth did not appreciate having to go through his own pain and trauma, just to bring back a woman who not only lied to him about her love for him but had just now raped the creature that had brutally raped her for years, forcing her to give birth to little halfling monsters that were grotesque and hideous in appearance, forcing her to let them die and watch the rats eat them alive, how could she?!  He paced, a storm swirling around outside the castle, localized to the area where he was, tears stung his eyes and the rain began to pelt down in buckets. His heart thumped madly in pain and thunder boomed all around, anger flashed in his eyes and lightning lit up the blackened sky like fireworks.

In the shower, Sarah was feeling sorry for herself and trying to understand why Jareth would do such a thing to her? He knew her entire recovery was so very fragile, so he rapes her?? She slowly got to her feet and turned off the water, dried and dressed herself and she went straight to bed, crying herself to sleep as she hugged her pillows tightly to her chest.

Jareth stood outside her bedroom door, he listened to her gentle sobbing and he felt his anger slowly subsiding, suddenly he felt sorry for what he'd done to her and he opened the door. Sarah gasped and sat up quickly, turning to see him standing there, looking wet and sorry for himself. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and Jareth came to sit on the bed next to her, she looked into his apologetic eyes and slowly cuddled up to him, more tears flowing down her face as he embraced her and they lay back into the pillows together.

Forgiveness flowed through them both, the creature was dead a few weeks later but Sarah never did go back down there and Jareth kept himself busy so as not to be tempted to go back down there either.

One morning, as she was snuggling up into Jareth's naked embrace, Sarah suddenly felt her stomach churn and she rolled away from him, just in time to puke all over the floor. Jareth woke with a start and frowned, worried about her.

"Sarah, are you ill?" he wondered, "why didn't you say something?" 

Sarah felt as pale as she probably looked and she turned back to face him, she'd been here so many times, she knew exactly what to tell him and she braced herself for an eruption of anger.

"I'm not sick," she reassured him softly, lifting her eyes to meet with his, "I'm pregnant, I am pretty sure."

Jareth was silent for a long moment, Sarah tried to read his expression but she couldn't quite figure out what he might be thinking.

"Of course you would know," he finally spoke to her again, "are you pleased?"

"I suppose I am," Sarah nodded, "are you alright with this?"

"Yes," Jareth touched her face gently, "I've wanted a child for so long, Sarah."

She smiled at him, perhaps this baby would be the blessing they were yearning for, the one thing that could heal the broken pieces that not even their love for each other could fuse back together. She kissed him and he hugged her tightly, they both felt lighter and much happier and the healing truly began when they announced it to their closest friends, some of which came over and celebrated by taking Jareth out to get drunk but he soon returned and slept it off until the next morning.

*

Six months in and Sarah was rubbing her belly, talking softly to it and telling her baby how much she loved it so very dearly and Jareth even talked to the baby, who kicked and wriggled excitedly at the sound of Jareth's voice. It made him grin and laugh, drawing them both together and forming such a close bond that could never be broken again. Jareth bathed with Sarah, pampering her with rose petals in the water and scented bath oils to massage into her and he showed her one night, a beautiful nursery made just for the baby in neutral colors because they didn't know the baby's gender yet. Sarah looked around with awe in her expression and unbridled love and joy in her heart, the nursery was so beautiful and just made everything that much more real to her. Jareth was pleased that she found the room acceptable and they began sleeping in there together, him sitting in the rocking chair with her curled up in his lap until finally, Sarah felt her waters break one stormy evening as they sat enjoying their dinner.

She didn't want to alarm Jareth or spoil the night, so she ignored it for now, knowing labor wouldn't start right away.

"Have you wanted a child because you need an heir, Jareth?" Sarah wondered.

"No," Jareth smiled at her, "I don't intend to die anytime soon, if at all. I long to be a father because I want to experience the joys of fatherhood. All those firsts, Sarah, can you just imagine it?" 

Sarah just smiled a little, she'd sort of been there before but he hadn't, so she let him have his fantasy of holding his newborn for the first time, hearing that first cry, watching those first toddling steps, hearing the first words topple from its little mouth. Jareth was so looking forward to it, he could hardly wait or contain his excitement when Sarah finally told him that it was time, after they had returned to the bedroom when dessert was over.

Jareth sent for the midwife, who had been called upon some days ago and was now staying at the castle, ready and waiting for the day she might be needed. She took Sarah into the bathroom and told Jareth to stay out, it wasn't proper in this realm for the man to be present while the woman was giving birth but she assured Jareth that she would let him in the moment the baby was born.

Jareth reluctantly did as he was told and paced up and down, his closest Allied neighbor was soon there to stand with him and wait, to hold Jareth's hand every time Sarah screamed and to distract Jareth with useless facts and dirty jokes until they heard sudden silence. Jareth tensed up, the midwife screamed and Jareth tried to open the door but it was locked, so his friend crashed through it because he was very big and strong and Jareth was feeling too worried to concentrate on a spell or use magic.

The scene inside was nightmarish, there was blood everywhere and the window was open, Jareth rushed to it and looked down, only to see Sarah's body hit the pavement below.

"Why?" Jareth spun around, "why did she jump!? Where is my baby?" 

The midwife handed Jareth a small bundle of blankets, but he did not take it from her, he simply stared at the unmoving, lifeless corpse of his son and he grit his teeth to hold back his sobs of remorse and grief.

"She took one look at it and called it a repulsive monster," the midwife said softly, her voice shaking, "there was nothing I could do, she threw it at the wall and jumped out the window." 

Jareth felt his friend hug him, he turned and buried his face into the other man's broad, muscular chest and he was given time to just grieve and let it all out with no fear of judgement or ridicule.

Some days later, Jareth stood in the rain, staring absently down at the graves of his wife and son, his best friend standing nearby but silently.

"I never even got to hear him cry," Jareth broke the silence, "I never got to hold my son alive. I didn't see the warning signs, I blame myself!"

"It's not your fault, Jareth," his friend said softly, "nobody saw it coming, how could anyone have guessed it?" 

"She was my wife!" Jareth spat angrily, "I should have sensed something was wrong!" 

Jareth's shoulders began to shake as he thought of the tiny toes he'd never be able to kiss, the little gurgles he'd never hear when he tickled that small tummy, the nights he would be spending alone for years to come, the ache in his heart that would never properly heal. His friend came up behind him and once again embraced Jareth, who turned towards him and just cried so hard that they both fell to their knees, one being unable to stand anymore and the other sinking just to support his friend.

"I understand now, James." Jareth said quietly, gazing down at the two graves once more, for he knew then what it felt like, what it really meant to be broken.

****